Hand truck with lift platform



July 11, 1950 E. ZENKO HAND TRUCK WITH LIFT PLATFORM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 28, 1947 9W) Antenna? MD m July 11, 1950 E, ZENKO HAND TRUCK WITH LIFT PLATFORM Filed May 28, 1947 \uvamoa EDWARD Zsmo S21 MPQ WQM Arm RNEY Patented juiy 11 1950 sures HAND TRUCK-WITH LIFT FLAZLEQRMI Edward nko, Gram! Haven, Application May' 28, 1947; Serialv'No.'7-*5 1 ,002

which: a platformisprovided. movable to a posifii'ont close to the floor: for easy loadingor unloadingat floor lever andmovable under power,

to elevated positionsfor easy loading or unload fng toand, from these positions, for instance, the=bedo amachine or a work bench; the truck ifsieasily andquicl tlyshiftedifrom loading position traveling orconveying position; the platform easily hoisted and-lowered;- the construction is siz-nple and economical to manufacture; Other-object and advantages of the pre ent invention will become apparent fiomithe follow ing description takenin connection with the ac companying, drawings, in which:

Figure- 1 is a central" yerticallor'igitudinal seetijon'al view through a hand" truck made in accordance with the construction, of "my invention" with the truck in loadin osition at floor level.

Figure: 2 is a similar .view of the hand truck shown in travelling. position with the .platformj inraised position, A

Figure Sis a front elevational view of'the' hand truck. V

Figure 4 ista horizontal. transverse sectional; view through the hand truck taken along line 44 in Figure 2 lookingiin. the. direction of the arrows. v

Eigure-5 isartragmentary rear elevational view of the upper portion ofthe truck structure.

Refer-ring to the details of. the drawing in which like: reterence-numeralsrefer to like parts throughout the severalviews Numeral tvreters toa pair of wheels on which the trucka'is moved and these wheels are rotatably moun-tedi onan axle 2 rotatably extendingthrough the bearings: 3 formed; as part of. the handle members 4. These handles are provided with hand grips 5 at" their upper horizontal. ter-- minal ends" andwith the horizontal stop channel 6 extending'therebetw'e'en', and are also provided with the relatively short arms 1 extendin forwardly substantially horizontal from the bearings 3. The arms are pivotally attached to thepivot pins 8, secured" to and extendingoutwardly' from theside channel frame members I forming part of arectangular main frame. also havinga lower horizontal channel member Hi and an.

upper horizontal channel memb'erll l 4 A-trailing or sel'f-al'ining; caster [2 1s supported on the main; frame by securing the caster to the bottom side of a substantially square plate it with a pair of horizontal diverging tubes:

secured at their ends to the .plate and at opposite ends secured. to the rear. side of the frame members Another pair of; tubes- 15 are secured at theirlower ends to the upper side of the plate It and extendvupwardly' forwardly and;

diverginglywith thei'r'uppen ends=securedto the rear-side of the mainframe member. is Tihu' thec'aster is attached ito the main frame, A. stop member lt is secured to theupper side ofthe plate I3 and: the outer front end thereof" is adaptedtto be engaged by the cross stop member 6 by movement 01' the handles l.

A. pair of spaced parallel fork members l[ are secured to and extend forwardly from the main frame member I10.

A- horizontal platform I 8,. with its upright back: member 18,. isadapted to receive articles and} goods to be transported The platform is provided at its under. sidewith the :angle member reinforcements 2G and the back member l'9 has the angular members 211 secured: thereto. The platform is adapted to. be moved vertically along the main frame by providing a pair of rollers 22" adapted to roll internally of the channel frame member 9. I These rollers are rotatably supported in bearing members secured to the angle members 2'l.- Thus the platform moves vertically on a'frictionTes-s carriage.

Means are provided'for hydraulically raising, and lowering the platform which construction includes a hydraulic cylinder 26', the closed head 26 of which is attached to the lower horizontal main frame member! 01' This cylinder is provided: with a piston 21 with an attached piston rod 28: moving through the head 29 of the cylinder; The p'iston'rod' is also slidably received through an opening in the upper horizontal; channei main frame member Hi and extends thereabove;

A crosshead 3t isattachecl' to the upper'end of thepiston rod 38 by means. of'the nut 31. A pair of rod's 32 attached attheir upper ends to the cross'h'ead sn by means: of'thienuts 33 and are attached; at their' lower ends to the angle bracl%- ets 34, by means of the'nuts 35. These angle brackets are welded or otherwise attached'to' the rear-side of theback member 19. Thus-by op; eration of the hydraulic cylinder; piston and rods the platform is moved vertically;

A cross member 36' is attached horizontally between and to the rear sides of the frame members 9. The hydraulic cylinder is secured to this cross member 26 with the U bolt 31 extending around the cylinder, extending through openings in the cross member and held by means of the nuts 38.

A hydraulic pump 39 is attached to the rear face of the cross member 36 and is provided with a low pressure conduit 40 connected to the upper end of the cylinder and a high pressure conduit 4I connected to the lower end of the cylinder.

The hydraulic pump is provided with an operating lever 42 having a hand grip 43 and connected to a rock shaft 44 of the pump. By operation of the lever 42 oil is pumped from the upper end of the cylinder into the lower end thereof thus raising the platform. A bypass lever 45 is connected to a rock shaft 46, by the operation of which the oil is allowed to bypass the pump allowing the oil to pass freely from the lower end of the cylinder to the upper end of the cylinder by the gravitational lowering of the platform.

In use the hand truck is in a position as shown in Figure 1 for loading from the floor. In this position the handles 4 are released allowing the main frame to drop with the frame member ID resting on this floor. In this position the center of gravity of this main frame assembly is ahead of the lower rear corner of the lower frame member I causing the main frame to rest on the forks I! with the caster I2 raised from the floor. In this position with the platform I8 close to this floor, heavy articles, tools and pans of articles may be easily slid onto the platform.

If it is desired to load the truck from the height of a work bench or the bed of a machine, the lever 42 is reciprocated, with the bypass control 45 in closed position, whereby the oil is pumped from the upper end of the cylinder to the lower end. This moves the piston 21, piston rod 28, rods 32 and the platform I3 upwardly until the desired height is reached. The article to be moved from the bench or machine bed is easily slid onto the platform I8 the same height thereof.

In order to move or transport the truck the operator grasps the two grips 5 of the handle 4 and moves them downwardly and rearwardly around the axle 2. The first pivotal motion of the handles 4 moves the short arm upwardly, lifting the main frame 9IIII I pivotal thereon on the pins 8. This lifts the forks I'I off from the floor a short distance. The cross member 6 secured between the handles 4 engages the outer forward end of the stop member I6 and further rearward and downward motion of the handles of the operator moves the caster I2 downwardly into contact with the floor. Thus the truck and load have a three point supporting contact with the floor. With the truck in this position the operator may push the truck to the desired destination while continually pushing downwardly on the handles.

When the desired destination is reached vthe operator releases his downward pressure on the handles 4, which motion first, pivots the main frame around the axlev 2 raising the caster I3 from the floor and lowering the main frame until the bottom rear corner of the lower frame member I0 rests on the floor. Then the main frame pivots on the frame member ID until the forks I] rest flatly on the floor. The platform I8 is thereafter raised or lowered tothe desired height for delivery of the article or articles from the platform to the floor, or to a work bench or the bed' of a machine.

The platform may be lowered by moving the bypass lever 45 which permits the oil to flow from the lower end of the cylinder to the upper end thereof by the weight of the platform and other parts supported on the piston rod 28. The platform may be stopped at any desired position during the lowering thereof by moving the bypass lever 48 to closed position.

It will be noted from the foregoing description that I have invented a hand operated fork truck that is simple and easy to operate with the minimum of efiort on the part of the operator. The platform is easily hoisted or lowered to the desired elevation either for loading or unloading of articles to and from the platform at any desired height.

Having thus described my one construction of my invention it is considered that various alterations may be made in the construction thereof without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope thereof being defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A truck comprising spaced wheels on an axle, spaced operating handles pivotally attached to the axle each having a horizontally forwardly extending short arm, a main frame pivotally attached between the short arms, means extending forwardly of the main frame adapted to rest on the floor for holding the main frame in substantially vertical position, rolling means extending rearwardly of the main frame adapted to rest on the floor during transportation thereof for holding the main frame substantially vertical, a horizontal platform vertically movable on the main frame and means for moving the platform vertically on the main frame.

2. A truck comprising spaced wheels on an axle, spaced operating handles pivotally attached to the axle each having a horizontally forwardly extending short arm, a main frame pivotally attached between the short arms, means extending forwardly of the bottom edge of the main frame adapted to rest on the floor during the loading thereof for holding the main frame substantially in vertical position, means attached to and extending rearwardly of the main frame adapted to rest on the floor during transportation thereof for holding the main frame substantially vertical, a coacting stop between the spaced operating handles and the rearwardly extending main frame supporting means, a horizontal platform vertically movable on the main frame and means for causing the said movement.

3. A truck comprising a pair of spaced wheels on an axle adapted to roll on a floor, spaced operating handles pivotally attached to the axle each having a horizontally forwardly extending short arm, a forwardly and rearwardly tiltable main frame pivotally connected between the short arms, means extending forwardly of the main frame adapted to rest on the floor during a forwardly tilted loading position of the main frame, and rolling means extending rearwardly of the main frame adapted to rest on the floor during a rearwardly tilted transporting position of the main frame with the forwardly extending floor engaging means raised from the floor- 4. A truck comprising a floor supported movable supporting member, and operating handle pivotally connected to the supporting member having an integral horizontally forwardly extending short arm, a forwardly and rearwardly tiltable main frame pivotally connected to the forward end of the short arm, means extending horizontally forwardly from the main frame adaptedto engage the floor during the forwardly arm extending horizontally forward therefrom, a

forwardly and rearwardly tiltable main frame pivotally connected to the forward end of the short arm extending upwardly and slightly rearwardly therefrom, a fork member secured to the main frame extending horizontally forwardly therefrom adapted to engage the floor forwardly of the main frame when the main frame is tilted forwardly'in loading position, a caster secured to the main frame located rearwardly thereof in a position to engage the floor rearwardly of the main frame when the main frame is rearwardly tilted to transporting position with the fork member in raised position above the floor.

6. A hand'truck comprising spaced wheels on an axle adapted to roll on a floor, an operating handle pivotally connected to the axle extending upwardly andrearwardly therefrom having a short arm extending horizontally forward therefrom, a forwardly and rearwardly tiltable main frame pivotally connected to the forward end of the short arm extending upwardly and slightly rearwardly therefrom, a caster secured rearwardly of the main frame in which it normally rests in its rearwardly tilted transporting position, a fork member secured to the lower end of the main frame extending horizontally forwardly and slightly upwardly therefrom adapted to engage the floor when the main frame is tilted forwardly in loading position with the caster raised from '7. A hand truck comprising spaced wheels rotatably mounted on an axle and adapted to roll on a floor, an operating handle pivotally connected to the axle extending upwardly and rearwardly therefrom with a short arm extending horizontally forwardly therefrom, a forwardly and rearwardly tiltable main frame pivotally connected to the outer end of the short arm, a

caster supported rearwardly of the main frame adapted to engage the floor when the main frame is rearwardly tilted, stop means engageable between the main frame and the operating handle to tilt the main frame rearwardly on rearward pivoting motion of the handle, and fork means secured to the lower end of the main frame extending horizontally forward and slightly upwardly therefrom adapted to engage the floor on forward pivoting of the operating handle and forward tilting of the main frame.

8. A hand truck comprising spaced wheels r0- tatably mounted on an axle for forward movement on a floor, an operating handle pivotally mounted on the axle extending upwardly and rearwardly therefrom rotatable to a forward and rearward position, a short arm secured to the operating handle extending horizontally forwardly therefrom, a main frame pivotally mounted on the outer end of the short arm pivotally to a forward and rearward tilted position, a caster supported on the main frame and located rearwardly therefrom, stop means between the operating handle and the main frame engageable on rearward pivoting motion of the operating handle moving the caster into floor engagement with the main frame tilted rearwardly in transposition, a fork secured to the lower. end of the main frame spaced vertically from the floor on rearward rotative positioning of the operating handle and extending horizontally forwardly and slightly upwardly from the main frame, and the fork engageable with the floor on forward pivoting of the operating handle lowering the fork to the floor and forward tilting of the main frame tilting the fork to horizontally extending position.

EDWARD ZENKO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 429,140 Mallory June 3, 1890 1,018,260 Myrholm Feb. 20, 1912 1,168,008 Kleine Jan. 11, 1916 1,591,766 Mayer July 6, 1926 2,030,925 Lea Feb. 18, 1936 2,398,584 Goodrich Apr. 16, 1946 2,415,655 Reinert Feb. 11, 1947 2,431,096 Van Den Bergh et al. Feb. 11, 1947 

